A writ of mandamus is a court order which compels someone to execute a duty which he or she is legally compelled to complete. This type of writ can also be used to order a lower court to complete a duty which is assigned by law. The writ of mandamus is rarely used, because it must be demonstrated that there is no other remedy available and that someone is suffering an injustice as a result of the failure to complete a legally required duty. It can also be very disruptive and for that reason judges are reluctant to grant such writs unless they are truly necessary. [emphasis added]
This indicates to me that complete judicial discretion is the nature of this action, which takes it out of the realm of forcing the system to contradict itself.
Writ of Mandamus
From my reading it appears as this is not something which adheres to the "just ask questions" thinking which Marc Stevens suggests.- WiseGeek has this to say:
A writ of mandamus is a court order which compels someone to execute a duty which he or she is legally compelled to complete. This type of writ can also be used to order a lower court to complete a duty which is assigned by law. The writ of mandamus is rarely used, because it must be demonstrated that there is no other remedy available and that someone is suffering an injustice as a result of the failure to complete a legally required duty. It can also be very disruptive and for that reason judges are reluctant to grant such writs unless they are truly necessary. [emphasis added]This indicates to me that complete judicial discretion is the nature of this action, which takes it out of the realm of forcing the system to contradict itself.